Yang continues to improve and will be hard to displace | OneFootball

Celtic easily dispatched a poor Aberdeen side at Celtic Park last night in the driving rain as they maintained their 100% start to this season’s league campaign…

Hyun-Jun Yang of Celtic shoots during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 Play off round second leg match between LASK and Celtic at on August 25, 2026 in Linz, Austria. (Photo by Christian Bruna/Getty Images)

It was a relatively easy task and was a result that never looked in doubt. Celtic looked good in patches but I have to say this looks like an awful Aberdeen team who I imagine will be closer to the drop-zone than the European places this season unless they drastically improve.

I’m not sure about the rest of you but I have to admit that I haven’t felt the buzz I usually do watching Celtic over the past two games, and I know the reason why – the gut wrenching pain brought on from watching that capitulation in Austria is still raw.

I’m usually the type who puts defeats in the rear view mirror and wants to move forward, but this one really has stuck with me.

Camilo Duran of Celtic celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 play-offs first leg match between Celtic and LASK at Celtic Park on August 19, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Last night I saw the goal of the month competition which included all three goals scored against LASK at Celtic Park. All I could think was how the hell did we go from the euphoria of that night to the absolute anguish experienced a week later?

Anyway I’ll try to bury those thoughts, at least the players seem to have done a better job of blocking out that nightmare than I have!

Marius Muller of Aberdeen gathers the ball under pressure from Yang Hyun-Jun of Celtic and Marius Muller of Aberdeen during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on September 02, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Back to last night’s game, it was a decent performance all round and was also great to get a look at a few of our new arrivals. I was impressed by all of them, in the limited minutes they were on the pitch.

Oliver Sorensen, Celtic FC. Photo Celtic FC

Oliver Sorensen was the first newcomer we got to see and he looked like he’ll certainly offer plenty this season. I personally thought he seemed a bit similar to Stefan Johansen, which is certainly no bad thing. We also got a look at Shim Mheuka, who looks like he definitely has the talent to chip in with more than a few goals this season.

Shumaira Mheuka of Celtic reacts during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on September 02, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

There were a few good performances that need mentioned including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who seems to be going from strength to strength with a proper pre-season behind him, and young Colby Donovan who is more than capable of being our starting right back until Alastair Johnston returns.

I was most impressed however by Yang, a player who still remains vastly underrated by a large section of the Celtic support.

Yang is improving season by season and is a player I have previously stated in past articles as being a key member of this Celtic squad. Not only does he score goals and provide assists but he also does the dirty work, a proper hard working winger who puts as much in defensively as he does going forward.

Martin O’Neill, Manager of Celtic, looks on before the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on September 02, 2026 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Martin O’Neill has stated as far back as his first stint as interim manager that he thought Yang was more suited to the left wing and our wily old manager has been proved correct on that one.

Camilo Duran of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Scottish Premiership 2026/27 match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on September 02, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Since being utilised on the opposite side of the pitch he has certainly become more of a goal threat and seems to be getting into better positions. He would have scored a double last night if Camilo Duran had spotted him standing completely free when he instead had a weak effort on goal himself.

A lot of people assume Jota will automatically pick up where he left of when he returns to fitness. Personally I think it will take him a long time to get fully back up to speed and even when he does he will have a fight on his hand displacing Yang.

Jota back training. Celtic Training and press conference, photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/ Shutterstock

I can imagine Jota maybe being used as more of an impact sub when he returns rather than a starter. Yang will certainly offer more defensively and I can see him getting the nod in the big games in Europe and at home.

I really hope Yang reaches his full potential this year. As I said he’s been improving every year and if he can find a bit more consistency, I can see him becoming a mainstay in our starting eleven going forward.

Conall McGinty

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